Employee Relations

Our vision to be North America's energy delivery leader depends on the dedication, commitment and ingenuity of a committed and highly skilled workforce. We have more than 3,700 regular employees, primarily in Canada and the United States. In addition, we hire temporary employees for projects and seasonal work.

Enbridge's human resources programs must address a wide range of needs for our employees and their families. Covering compensation, employee development, performance and rewards, learning and leadership development and our work environment, these programs help to provide a rich work experience and form the foundation of our relationships with employees.

Compensation

We design our base salary programs to be fair and competitive so as to attract and retain talented workers. Our benefits programs provide employees and their families with a range of options for medical coverage, life insurance and disability plans. Extending beyond health, Enbridge offers tuition assistance to our employees and post secondary scholarships to children of Enbridge employees. We review our programs regularly to ensure they continue to meet changing needs.

Performance and rewards

We are implementing a new performance management program that strengthens the relationship between employee performance and rewards, including our new incentive compensation plan implemented January 1, 2004 for employees below the Director level. This program will help employees to develop a stronger understanding of how individual and collective performance is linked to rewards.

Education and training

Our success as a responsible corporate citizen depends on a highly skilled, committed workforce and the training, development and lifelong learning of all our employees.

Through employee development and performance and succession management activities, we identify opportunities for formal training. At the field level, employees receive training largely focused on EH&S, regulatory training and technical skills and competency. We have a well established leadership program aimed at front line, mid-level and senior-level management to develop core leadership capabilities. We also provide experiential training through job transfers and project assignments.

Work environment

Enbridge has corporate policies aimed at promoting a healthy work environment. We also subscribe to the principles of a fair and equitable work environment. We have flexible working arrangements which include various forms of paid time off.

Each of our businesses recognizes the special achievements of our employees. These activities range from long-service awards to compensation arrangements to informal recognition for contributions on major projects and undertakings.

Employee communication

We actively engage our employees through different communications programs. Each year Enbridge employees are invited to employee annual meetings across our organization to learn about the company's plans for strategic growth. The meetings give them the opportunity to speak directly to senior management and share ideas and concerns.

Other forms of employee communications at Enbridge include our intranet and various employee newsletters. In 2003, we initiated Enbridge and You, a series of newsletters updating employees on changes to compensation, benefits and pension programs.

We have also established local and regional EH&S committees and working groups, where employees and management meet regularly to discuss local issues. These dialogues often result in new opportunities for leadership and action.

Last year, for example, our Chicago Region EH&S committee helped to organize an initiative to track and dispose of hazardous wastes throughout our operations in Illinois, Indiana and Michigan. Employee working groups in our U.S. Natural Gas Business also provided input to EH&S programs and worked with EH&S professionals to conduct field audits and EH&S training at our plants. And members of our 10 Joint EH&S Committees in Gas Distribution coordinated educational events throughout Ontario to raise employee and public awareness of Earth Day and North American Occupational Safety and Health Week. These ranged from lunch-and-learn sessions to student tours to planting trees and cleanup campaigns in city parks.

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